NOW ON TOPIC! What a gem of a movie Noemí Gold is! It is such a pleasure when filmmakers tell their stories with simplicity and don’t beat us over the head with special effects, fancy camera work, or other such showmanship. Dan Rubenstein’s Noemí Gold does none of these things, and the film is a whole lot more enjoyable and resonates so much more as a result.
Among the many wonderful things about this slice of Argentineana is that the main character, Noemí Goldberg (Catalina Beraducci), learns right off the bat that she is still pregnant after some morning-after pills prove ineffective. This realization remains at the top of Noemí’s mind as she passes the time before she must travel to Uruguay for an abortion. Noemí goes about her life as she connects with herself and her family.
“…Noemí Goldberg learns right off the bat that she is still pregnant after some morning-after pills prove ineffective.”
That is really what the film is about: appreciating what is around you and the uniqueness that makes family and friends so important and comforting. At one point late in the movie, Noemí is having a heart-to-heart with her best friend and roommate, Rosa (Martina Juncadella), who feels as though she has been a less-than-attentive friend as of late. “I feel like a broken adult,” Rosa says through tears. “That’s not the way I see you,” Noemí responds as she comforts her.
This ease of interaction is emblematic of the truthfulness that exists between the characters and situations in Noemí Gold that is simultaneously refreshing and astonishing. While not nearly as graphic or as raw, I was reminded in many ways of Larry Clark’s groundbreaking Kids from 1995 with regard to the young characters’ relationships with each other.
"…a gem of a movie..."
